A number of wireless technologies are expected to be implemented on a same cell site. For example, second generation (2G), third generation (3G), and fourth generation (4G) wireless technologies are to be simultaneously operational, with future incremental migration from 2G to 3G and then 4G. Those aspects are particularly important as a part of converged radio access networks. Re-use of the same cell towers, radio-frequency cabling, and antenna arrays is highly desirable providing cost-effective multi-technology solutions.
One of the key issues is that different technologies require different beam architectures. For example, for each cell (i.e., sector) in the downlink, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) supports single-antenna transmission, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) supports two-antenna transmission, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) supports up to four-antenna transmission. If a service provider decides to deploy LTE with 3 cells per site, and 4 antennas per cell, the service provider may have to manually implement additional antenna elements on the existing antenna configuration.